Improvement in gas and other retorts



S. WN w H M 104 d, 7 /1 4 w `.7,

Pd Zen Fed fe. 37867,.

vl/O/f.

lI l "n lu... le,

0:... Qdowa .dr Q di.,

@nii/rh tstesatrnt @High JAMES JOHN HOLDEN AND SEALY` JAMES' BEST, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

Letters Patent o. r.(1,617, dated .December'n 1867; patented in England, October 31,' 1866.

IMIROVliliilIdlI IN GAS AND OTHER RETORTS.

T O ALL TOWHOM I'l MAY CONCERN:

Beit known that we, JAMES JOHN Homann and SEALY JAMES BEST, both of Bermondsey, London, England, subjects of the Queen of' GreatoBritain and Ireland, have invented or discovered an Improvement in or applicable to Gas-Retorts, and other Retorts;" and we, the said JAMES JOHN HOLDEN and SEALY JAMES BEST, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof; that is to say--v f Our invention refers to retorts used for the manufacture of gas, and also to retorts used for other manufacf tures or purposes, and it relates to certain arrangements applicable to such retorts, whereby two or more retorts may be opened andclosed at the Sametime, for thepurposc of facilitating and expediting the charging or feeding of the said retorts, and the discharging or drawing of the same.

Heretofore retorts, as ordinarily constructed, havebeen provided with doors, lids, or covers, one to each 'retortthat isto say, each single retort has hitherto been furnished with a door, lid, or cover, so that each retort has had to be opened and closed separately and singly when to be'charged and drawn.

Now, our invention consists in applying, at the mouth of the retorts, a chamber, intowhich two or morel retor'ts open, so that thechamber establishes communication between such two or more retorts, and thesaid chamber is furnished with a door, whereby it is opened and closed; and such door, therefore, also serves to open and close both or all the retorts which communicate with or open into the said chamber, so that such retorts will be all opened and closed simultaneously, instead of each retort' having to be opened and` closed singly and separately.

The accompanying drawings represent the mode in which the invention may be performed.

Figure 1 is a front view, v

Figure 2 av longitudinal vertical section of our arrangement.

A AA are three retorts, set in brick-work B. G is a chamber, which, according to our invention, is placed st the mouths of the ret-Orts. The best mode of doing this (although we do not restrict ourselves to it) is as shown' in the drawing, in which metal plates a are bolted to the brick-work at the ends of the retorts, and the back plate c' of the chamber C is secured to these lplates a, In g. 2 We have shown the chamber G'apart, and detached from the retorts, in order that the mode of tting it in place may be' better perceived; but, of course,

Vit must be understood that, according to our invention, we fix the chamber close up to the ends of the retorts,

the plates a and c being brought closely together, and rmly secured to each other. We sometimes, also, form the chamber in the brick-work, disposing it in the position above described atthe mouths or ends of the retort's. There are openings ox in the back plate c, and corresponding openings aX in the plates a, suchopen-ings being opposite to and communicating with the mouths AX of the retorts, so that the retorts open into and communicate with the chamber through these openings when the chamber is in its place. The chamber shown in the drawing establishes communication between three retorts, but it may be constructed to establish communication between two or more than three retorts in like manner, and the retorts communicating with it may be in a vertical row,

as shown in the gure, or otherwise. The chamber has, at front', an opening occupying the whole or nearly the' whole front of the chamber. Such opening is closed by a door, D, and when this doorisopen, access will be had 'to the three retorts which communicate with such'chamber. The door D is hinged at d d to the front of the chamber; 'when closed, it is fastened by bars E, which work on axes or pivots p, secured -to the door, and can thus be turned in both directions to the required extent for fastening and unfastening thedoor. The bars have wedge-shaped. ends, which, when in the fastening position, wedge or engage in recesses or staples m, secured to the chamber. The back or inner side of the door, and the edges of the chamber against which it closes, are faced true to correspond, so that, when the door is' closed and secured, it fits or jams close up against the edges, and forms a tight-faced joint or surface-joint which does not require luting. The door is unfastened by striking up the bars, se that they turn suiiiciently to disengage the ends from the staples m. S is a socket, open at both ends, and'iixed to the top of the chamber G. To this socket is fitted the aseensionpipe W, so that -the products pass oiifrom the retorts and chamber `through the socket into the ascensionpipe, or the ascension-pipe may lead from one chamber, when there are several chambers, to one bench of retorts, allthe chamber-sin thatcase comx municating' together.

Instead-oi' using,` the hinged -doors withfasteningbars,'we sometimes use doors which are opened and closed by being slidden up and down vertically in front of the chamber. Such doors are connected with counterbaloince-- weights by chains or cords passing over pulleys, 'and at back they it true against the front edges ofthe cham,- ber, so as to make e. tight-surface joint, and their front surface is inclined or wedge-shaped, and slides in inclined guide-brackets, which keep the door tightly jammed against the chamber when closed.

Although we have described two arrangements of doors for our chambers, with two modes of. working andsecuring them, namely, a hinged door with fastening-bars, and a sliding door with counterbaIance-weight, both closing with faced joints, yet we wish it to be understood that we do not restrict ourselves to suchl two-arrange men-ts of doors, nor to such two modes of working and securing them,`as other arrangements ofdoors and other modes of working and securing them may be used, and even luted doors, or doors not having faced joints, may be used without departing from the nature of our invention.

When double retorts are used, that is to say, retorts open at both ends, a chamber such as we have described may be applied at each-end of the retorts, and an ascension-pipe may lead from one or both such chambers.

Having now described the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same may be performed,

we declare that we clai'm as our improvements in gas-retorts and other retorts- The employment'of a chamber at the mouths of retorts, so disposed as to establish communication between two, three, or more retcrts, such chamber having a door, by opening which access is afforded to such two, three,

or more retorts at the same time, substantiallyas described.

y JAMES-JOHN HOLDEN,

SEALY JAMES BEST.

Witnesses:

RIcHD N IcHoLsoN, 44 Mark 12eme, London. HENRY J. MARTIN, .44 Mark Lane, London. 

